Why Rural Matters 2009 is the fifth in a series of biennial reports analyzing the contexts and conditions of rural education in each of the 50 states and calling attention to the need for policymakers to address rural education issues in their respective states.

Mandatory district consolidation — for rural small districts — is shifting education costs to rural towns and breaking down Maine's traditions of self-governance. Next month voters will decide whether to reject the law that is forcing the dissolution of many of the state's school districts. Supporters of self-governance are urging citizens to reject a law they say is unfair, badly conceived, and unable to improve education: consolidation advocates, however, are making a variety of claims about "the facts…"

Parents and students in an isolated rural community are claiming that their constitutional rights to an adequate and equitable education are violated by long bus rides since the local school was closed…

Blurb: Rural students are, on average, less likely to aspire to college, less likely to attend, and less likely to earn a degree than their urban and suburban counterparts. There are several explanations and things schools can do…